


let us love one another

by merewiowing



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Dancing, F/F, Family Fluff, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-06-06 10:43:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6750691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merewiowing/pseuds/merewiowing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brady develops a new interest, to the happy surprise of his mothers. A snapshot from a quiet afternoon in House Themis.</p>
            </blockquote>





	let us love one another

**Author's Note:**

  * For [astrogeny](https://archiveofourown.org/users/astrogeny/gifts).



> my dear friend anise requested a family fluff maribelle/olivia story, accidentally (or not?) playing into all my biases. i hope you enjoy it, friend!

Olivia is no stranger to dancing with a partner. Though she prefers performing alone or, on the flipside, as a part of a large group, she would tell anyone who asked that there's nothing quite like a skilled partner she can trust. In the years since her marriage, she has had many occasions to confirm this.

Brady, whose steps are as careful as they are uneven, is not a skilled partner. Though he follows the movements of her feet with a furrowed brow, like when he practices reading his violin notes, and he does his very best to follow the rhythm she's clapping out, Olivia supposes it will take him several years before he truly starts improving.

Eventually, her son gets tired, and falls on the carpet with a loud groan that only a world-weary four year old would manage.

"Come on up," she says and hefts him up. "Don't get your Ma's favourite shirt dirty."

Brady mumbles an apology, and allows himself to be carried with only minimal wriggling. He's been getting a little chubby, thanks to the cakes Lissa always sneaks him when she visits, and Olivia is glad she’s in good shape due to her own regular practice.

She sits in one of the heavily decorated chairs that populate the drawing room and shifts around a little, until she finds a position they both can be comfortable in. She wonders if the carpenter who made these chairs had children himself.

Brady's unruly hair tickles her chin a bit. With a soft giggle, she sets to smooth it out.

"How did I do, Mom?" He asks eagerly.

"Beautifully!” She’s always so happy to praise him, to see how his eyes light up. “Soon you will be the star of every ball, sweetheart." He doesn't have to know that "soon" might mean a few more years, but then again... Olivia has always found the stiff court dances beloved by Ylisseans to be easy to learn. Her son is bright, he might surprise her.

Brady grins from ear to ear, and Olivia can't resist the urge to pinch his cheek a bit.

Just then, they hear the click of a turned doorknob, and the boy slides off her lap with an excited "Ma!" before Maribelle has fully stepped into the room. He always hugs her like he hasn't seen her in weeks, not a few hours at most, and this time is no different - his tiny arms are wrapped around his beloved Ma like a vice.

Maribelle sighs fondly and looks at Olivia with mock exasperation before picking Brady up and kissing his cheek. He's still a little flushed from their dancing, and Maribelle must notice it, too - she presses a hand to his forehead.

"You're terribly warm, Brady!" She exclaims after sitting down at the chair next to Olivia's. "Do you feel ill?”

"No, Ma!" Brady grins again, happy to share his latest experience. "We were dancin’!"

"Is that true?" Maribelle's eyebrows rise a little, and Olivia nods when she catches her wife glancing at her over Brady's head. "Well! I'm proud you're showing interest in something cultured, and you definitely won't find a better teacher than your own mother."

"Oh, stop that," Olivia says, flushing. A little too eager to move the conversation away from her skills, she asks: "How's Inigo, by the way?"

"Finally asleep, thank the gods. He would only calm down after I started reading to him from one of my books," Maribelle explains with a sigh. "It was frightfully effective, but I must say it's discouraging to know my own son is easily lulled to sleep by such important matters."

Olivia can't help but giggle at the thought - Maribelle, in her reading spectacles, explaining an ancient court case to their infant son, and expecting rapt attention.

"He'll find it more interesting when he grows up," she offers.

"I'm sure you're right, dearest. Brady, please stop tugging my hair, it's very ungentlemanly of you."

"Sorry, Ma." Brady lets go of the lock he's been holding, but keeps his eye on Maribelle's ringlets. Maybe he wonders, like Olivia does, if his own short hair will curl like that when he's older.

"Why the sudden interest in dancing, then?"

Maribelle's question was most likely directed at Olivia, but before she opens her mouth, Brady answers instead.

"I was lookin' for Mom and she was practicin’ when I found her! She looked really pretty and I wanted to know if I can do that too."

"And he did!" Olivia interjects. "I told him already, but I'm sure that with some practice, Brady will be a wonderful dancer."

"You would know best, dearest." Maribelle smiles at her before pressing a quick kiss to Brady's hair.

They all sit in silence for a while; Brady has occupied himself with the bow at the front of his shirt, and Maribelle has picked up a letter she had left on the table earlier in the day. She brings it close to her face to read; her refusal to carry her spectacles at all times is something Olivia has stopped addressing.

Olivia, herself, is simply happy to sit here and watch her wife and son. Though the scene is hardly a first - there have been many such quiet afternoons in the recent years - a certain sense of wonder never leaves her. The most surprising element is always the sense of belonging, how _at home_ she feels, even in this uncomfortable chair. This is not a life she had ever imagined herself having, and now she wouldn’t trade it for the world.

"Lissa is asking when she could visit," Maribelle says without looking away from the letter. "It's true that she hasn't been to Themis since before Inigo was born. Furthermore, Owain is apparently excited to meet a new playmate."

"They can visit as soon as it's convenient," Olivia replies. "As long as she promises not to bring Brady so many cakes this time."

Brady, not pleased with this idea, pouts at her and mumbles something in disapproval.

"Shush," Maribelle chides, and turns her head to look at Olivia. She looks almost amused. "I'll be sure to include this in my reply. We must make sure our children grow up healthy, after all."

"But Ma, you told me fruit's good for you, and Aunt Lissa's cakes always have fruit jam in them..."

Brady looks to Olivia, too, looking for support for his lost cause. She can only shake her head - even if she herself didn't mind Lissa's indulgences, Maribelle is staunchly against them and wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Remind me to tell you about how sick Aunt Lissa got from eating too many cakes when she was your age," Maribelle warns him. "Now, isn't it time for your reading practice?"

Brady makes a face, but obediently slides off his Ma's lap and then follows her out of the room, leaving Olivia alone. For a while, she can still follow their conversation: her wife saying they’ll continue from where they left off yesterday, Brady asking why he has to read stuffy things, and not something fun, like the books Owain gets. Maribelle's reply is too muted for Olivia to hear, but it's certainly not one their son would like.

There’s still a few hours left until dinner, Olivia thinks, so she stands up and begins stretching, intending to continue her interrupted practice. Maybe in a few years, if Brady keeps to it and Inigo also develops an interest in dancing, she’ll make it a regular part of their day, like the reading and violin practice Maribelle had ordained. Maybe she could even convince Maribelle to step out of her dance comfort zone.

It would be lovely, all four of them dancing together.

**Author's Note:**

> i spent a lot of time re-reading various supports and dlc dialogues brady is involved in and then i realised that i made him so small his speech patterns wouldn't have properly formed yet. orz
> 
> title is cheesy as hell but i promise i've got a reason for it - i borrowed the title of the final canto of the long-as-hell poem "pan tadeusz", which describes a wedding and the elaborate dance all the people present participate in. also, it's just sweet. :')
> 
> hope you all enjoyed it!


End file.
